Equity markets decline in early trade dragged by services, realty stocks, FII outflows
Mumbai (PTI): Equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty declined in early trade on Monday weighed down by losses in services and realty stocks and sustained foreign fund outflows.
The 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 316.52 points, or 0.37 per cent, to 85,395.85 in the morning trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty declined by 106.70 points, or 0.41 per cent, to 26,079.75.
From the Sensex firms, Bajaj Finance, Bharat Electronics Ltd, Axis Bank, Bajaj Finserv, Maruti Suzuki India, Asian Paints, Mahindra & Mahindra, NTPC, ICICI Bank, PowerGrid, Hindustan Unilever and Larsen & Toubro were the laggards.
However, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, Eternal, Reliance Industries, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles, Tata Consultancy Services, Trent, HCL Technologies and Tata Steel were among the gainers.
"Emerging positive and negative news have the potential to keep the market volatile in the near-term. Robust economic growth and indications of earnings growth revival are supportive of markets.
"The massive fiscal and monetary stimulus to the economy this year has contributed to sharp revival in GDP growth as evidenced by the 8.2 per cent Q2 GDP growth print, and RBI's upward revision of FY 26 GDP growth to 7.3 per cent augurs well for the market," VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist, Geojit Investments Ltd, said.
He noted that low GDP deflator, consequent to low inflation, has impacted nominal GDP growth and corporate earnings growth. But from the leading indicators it is clear that about 15 per cent earnings growth is achievable in FY27. This is positive for the market.
"However, there are strong negatives, too, which can impact the market. Sustained depreciation of the rupee has been forcing FIIs to sell in the market continuously," Vijayakumar added.
Meanwhile, foreign institutional investors (FIIs) offloaded equities worth Rs 438.90 crore on Friday, while Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) bought stocks worth Rs 4,189.17 crore, according to exchange data.
In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei 225, Shanghai's SSE Composite index and South Korea's Kospi were trading in the green territory while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was quoting in the red zone.
US markets ended higher on Friday.
"American equities posted modest, broad-based gains last week, supported by softer inflation data and resilient macroeconomic indicators that sustained expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts," Devarsh Vakil, Head of Prime Research, HDFC Securities, said.
He noted that investors positioned cautiously ahead of the upcoming Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, additional inflation releases, and year-end portfolio adjustments.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, rose 0.13 per cent, to USD 63.83 per barrel.
On Friday, the 30-share BSE Sensex benchmark advanced 447.05 points to settle at 85,712.37, while the 50-share NSE Nifty climbed 152.70 points to close at 26,186.45.
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Mangaluru: Two arrested, MDMA worth Rs 5.41 lakh seized
Mangaluru: Surathkal Police have arrested two persons and seized 54.06 grams of MDMA valued at Rs 5.41 lakh near a weighing bridge at Mukka within the Surathkal police station limits, Deccan Herald reported on Saturday.
According to DCP (Law and Order) Mithun H.N., the police acted on credible information that a resident of Kapu was arriving in the area to sell MDMA. Based on the tip-off, the PSI of Surathkal Police Station conducted a raid and found two cars parked side by side at the spot.
The arrested accused have been identified as Zakaria (38), from Kombugudde in Kapu and Mithun Poojary (23), from Santhekatte, Udupi district.
During interrogation, it was revealed that the accused had allegedly come to Surathkal to sell the MDMA to college students and the general public. Police arrested both and seized a total of 54.06 grams of MDMA from their possession,18.42 grams from Zakaria and 36.18 grams from Mithun Poojary.
Police confiscated two cars worth Rs 13 lakh, two mobile phones valued at Rs 20,000, and cash amounting to Rs 11,700. The total value of the seized property is estimated at Rs 18,72,700.
A case has been registered at the Surathkal Police Station under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act. Further investigation is in progress.
The DCP said that Zakaria has a criminal history, with five previous cases registered against him. These include assault cases at Bajpe Police Station in 2009 and Mulki Police Station in 2020, a case involving assault on a woman in 2022, a kidnapping case at Udupi Town Police Station in 2021, and another assault case at Padubidri Police Station in 2022.
